The Lost Secrets of the Quincy
by wolfmistress13
Summary: It's after Aizen's rebellion and everyone's afraid of what's to come. When a new girl comes as a new student, everyone is sure she's the new enemy. But is she really? Rated T just to be safe. BEING REWRITTEN. PREVIEW OF BOOK TWO POSTED HERE.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys

Hey guys! This is the first chapter of _The Lost Secrets of the Quincy_. I've been signed up on this site since forever, and have been planning to put this story up ever since a couple weeks before Season 7 of Bleach came out. I just never got to it. It might seem kinda hurried, but I wasn't really going to bore you with too much detail. Anyways, here's Chapter 1!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

_--_

_Ichigo Kurosaki and Aizen Sosuke charged at each other with amazing speed. A huge clash was heard, and dust and rubble arose everywhere. Everyone held their breath as the smoke cleared. Both Aizen and Ichigo stood still, unmoving. There was a long silence..._

"_Well done, kozo." Aizen finally said weakly and collapsed; dead. Ichigo closed his eyes fell to his knees from exhaustion. Orihime rushed to him._

"_Kurosaki-kun!" she cried. She immediately began to heal him. The rest of the group soon caught up, breathing heavily from running after Orihime._

"_It's finally over." Ichigo said, opening his eyes and looking at the group._

"_Yes." Rukia answered him, smiling. "It's finally over."_

_Unfortunately, about a few hundred meters away, Ichimaru Gin was making his escape…_

_--_

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_

Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, and Orihime stared at Rukia, who was looking at her little spirit phone, which was beeping.

"A hollow!!" Ichigo cried. He ran out of the school, Rukia behind him. It was now a few weeks after Aizen's rebellion, and all was well in Karukura town. Every once in a while, a hollow appeared, and nothing out of the ordinary occured.

As Ichigo ran out of the school, he suddenly crashed into something, which fell, but he kept going. He looked behind him to see a girl, with her papers all around her.

"Warii!" he yelled. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"You honestly need to watch where you're going!!" she scolded him.

"Hey I said I'm sorry!! Who was she anyway? I don't recognize her."

"You aren't good at remembering faces anyway. Focus on the hollow for now."

"Ah! Don't need to tell me twice!" Ichigo said. They were at the hollow's location by now, and they saw the massive, dangerous-looking hollow in front of them. Ichigo transformed into a shinigami and quickly sliced a hollow in half before it could even swipe at them with one of it's massive arms. The hollow then screamed and disappeared in mid-air.

"You sure got the hang of this, huh?" Rukia said, smiling, as she waited for him about ten feet away.

"Huh. Compared to fighting the arrancar, this is NOTHING." Ichigo answered, going back into his body and walking back towards her. Rukia nodded, remembering the terrible fight just a few weeks before.

"Let's get back to school. We're already late." Rukia then said, throwing away the bad memory from her mind. They ran back to school, already late by a few minutes.

--

"So class, I have an announcement to- KUROSAKI-SAN!! KUCHIKI-SAN! You're late! Ah, oh well. It's only been about 5 minutes anyway. Go ahead and sit down." the teacher said as Ichigo and Rukia rushed in. Everyone sweat dropped, seeing that the teacher was letting Ichigo and Rukia off so lightly and not caring one bit.

"AS I WAS SAYING, I have an announcement today. We have a new student." the teacher continued and beckoned someone to come in. A girl with long black hair in a pony tail and orange eyes came in. She bowed respectfully, only succeeding in making everyone sweat drop.

"My name is Koroke, Aimi. Pleased to meet you." the new girl then continued.

"Welcome to Karakura High, Koroke-san. Go sit down um, let's see...Oh! Next to Inoue-san!" the teacher said. Aimi obeyed quietly. The second she sat down, Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad all looked at her, then at each other.

--

"So you think she has to do something with that bastard?" Ichigo asked. The group was meeting on top of the school building during their free period.

"There is great possibility. Ichigo, you felt that reatsiu. It may be even bigger than yours." Rukia answered him, her arms crossed.

"Which means that that shinigami traitor is finally beginning to move." Ishida finished. Chad nodded, and Orihime remained silent. The bell then rang and they all left for lunch.

--

"Aimi-san! Would you like to eat with us?!" Orihime cried as Aimi was looking around to see where she should sit to eat at lunch.

"Mm...I guess…" Aimi said uncertainly. She walked up to the group of girls. Rukia slightly winced as Aimi sat in the circle of girls. Aimi opened her bento box and started to eat quietly.

"So, Koroke-san, where did you to school before moving here?" asked one girl.

"I never moved. I was just home-schooled ever since middle school." Aimi immediately answered.

"Huh? I never saw you in elementary school." The girl then said.

"Well, that's a while ago, so that isn't surprising." said another girl.

"Mm." the other girl agreed. Aimi remained silent. The girls soon left her alone, seeing that she wasn't going to talk much. Orihime looked at Aimi, a little worried.

"Koroke-san?" she then quietly began. Aimi looked at her.

"Yes?" Aimi asked, her voice hinting that she was a little annoyed. Orihime hesitated. She then smiled.

"Do you, well...Believe in ghosts?" she said slowly. Rukia's eyes widened. She looked at Orihime, alarmed. Aimi didn't notice. She was surprised, though.

"Well…Yeah I guess...Why you ask?" she said, now very curious.

"Um, I was just curious…You want to walk home together after school?" Orihime answered casually. Aimi was even more surprised at that. She had always been alone, not accepted by anyone, which was why she was home-schooled.

"Um, yeah, I guess..." she said.

"Great!" Orihime said, rejoicing and lifting her arms up. Everyone looked at her strangely. Aimi sweat dropped. She then smiled, and started to laugh for the first time that day. Everyone joined in. Rukia had a stern look on her face as she stared at Aimi.

--

Aimi and Orihime walked in silence from school. Aimi then broke the silence and finally spoke.

"Orihime, have you heard of something called hollows?" she asked. Orihime looked at Aimi, surprised.

"How do you...?" she started. "Um, yes I have, but how...?"

Instead of answering, Aimi suddenly stopped abruptly. Her eyes narrowed.

"Orihime, go ahead. Something came up." Aimi said.

"Aimi-san? Why?? What-" Orihime started, but was interrupted by a huge crash that narrowly missed Aimi, who jumped away.

"Well, that was impressive. Your skills have certainly not diminished." said a man's voice. Aimi glared. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a man in shinigami clothing. Orihime gasped. She looked at Aimi.

"Aimi-san, you see him?" she asked, surprised.

Aimi raised her eyebrows. "You do too?"

Orihime nodded.

"Enough chit-chat then, Aimi Koroke." the man said and attacked again. Aimi dodged it easily.

"Honestly, who the heck are you, and what do you want with me??" Aimi cried.

"Revenge." The man said, smiling. Aimi gritted her teeth. The man attacked again and again. Aimi picked up a metal pole without thinking and tried to block with it. The man easily cut through, and Aimi jumped back to dodge, losing her balance and falling in the process. The man took this chance and attacked again before Aimi could do anything. Aimi prepared herself.

But she felt nothing. Was she dead?

She opened her eyes to see Orihime in front of her, with a triangular orange shield.

"W-what is that??" Aimi cried, surprised. She noticed that some of Orihime's hairpins were gone.

"Oi, are you okay?" said a tiny voice. Aimi saw two little fairy-looking things in front of her face. She freaked for a second.

"Hey, relax! We're just Orihime's powers trying to help you!" one of the fairies said.

"Wait, Orihime's-?" Aimi began. She looked at Orihime, who was glaring at the man in front of them.

_So that explains the fact that she can see ghosts… _Aimi thought. She stood up and looked at the strange man. The man attacked again, only straight at the shield.

"What the hell is he doing?" Aimi quietly said to herself. Her eyes then widened.

"Orihime watch out!!" she suddenly cried. It was too late. The sword struck the shield with massive force. Aimi ran to Orihime, pushing her away just in time. The shield finally shattered, and the sword cut into Aimi's shoulder. Aimi and Orihime landed, and Aimi put her hand on her shoulder, which was bleeding and creating a small pool of blood on the ground.

"Aimi-san!" Orihime cried, alarmed. She looked back at the man, not sure of what to do now. The man smiled, knowing that he had won. He walked towards them and lifted his sword to deliver the final blow.

Suddenly, a bright blue arrow cut his wrist, making him drop his sword and clutch his wrist in pain.

"It's a shame, watching a grown man attack two young unarmed girls. You truly disgust me." said a familiar voice.

It was Ishida.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ishida-kun

Hey again! I hope you liked the 1st chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one as well!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--

"Ishida-kun!" Orihime cried, her voice both surprised and overjoyed.

"Inoue-san, didn't we warn you not to…" Ishida began in a stern voice, looking at Aimi. Orihime bowed her head.

"I know, but I thought, well…" she began, unsure of how to answer him. Ishida's eyes softened a little.

"Well, what's done is done." He then said. He turned towards the man. "I will be your opponent now."

The man laughed. Ishida's eyes narrowed.

"I don't care about you, or that 'Orihime' girl. All I want is to get rid of _Aimi._" He said. Aimi's eyes widened.

"How do you know my-?" she began. The man smirked.

"That is not important. You not knowing makes my life just a little easier in order to kill you." He said. Aimi gritted her teeth. Her hand still on her shoulder, she stood up slowly.

"Take Orihime somewhere safe." She ordered Ishida. Ishida looked at her, a little surprised. Aimi took out a necklace from under her shirt. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Aimi was wearing different clothes. Orihime gasped. Ishida's eyes widened.

Aimi's clothes looked exactly like Quincy clothes. She wore a long white skirt, and a long sleeved top that had a blue Quincy cross on the back. Her necklace was a silver circle with a silver Quincy cross. Aimi then stretched her arms out, creating a blue bow. She pulled back, revealing an arrow. She aimed it at the man.

"Go! I can hold him off!" she cried, waking up a startled Ishida. Ishida hesitantly grabbed Orihime by the hand, and then they ran off. Aimi could hear Orihime protesting loudly.

"I'm sorry, Orihime-san." Aimi said quietly. She didn't wish to put her only friend that she had in town into danger. She faced the man.

"You're going down, Daito." She said sternly. She then stopped, thinking about what she had just said.

_Wait, how did I know his name?? It just came to me… _she thought frantically. Maybe she did know this person more than she thought. She faced Daito, who was a bit surprised, but smiling nonetheless. He attacked her again. Aimi dodged and shot an arrow that went through his shoulder. He fell to his knees and clutched his shoulder. Aimi stood, glaring at him.

"Heh…Looks like I underestimated you again, Koroke." Daito then said. "But I'm not done with you yet. I will have my revenge!!"

Aimi didn't move an inch, and her eyes narrowed. She heard him start to mumble something. Her eyes widened. Before she could react, an explosion of demon magic sounded. Aimi coughed and sputtered. She looked up to see Daito gone with out a trace. She cursed and changed back to her normal self.

--

"Ishida-kun!! Why did you just leave Aimi-san there to fight by herself??" Orihime protested. Ishida stopped.

"Inoue-san, do you need help getting home?" he asked quietly.

"No, but what about Aimi-sa-!" Orihime began again. Ishida sighed.

"It's not our business." He simply answered and left. Orihime opened her mouth to protest again, but knew it would be of no use. She ran back to where the fighting had been. Both Aimi and Daito were gone without a trace.

"Of course…" Orihime said, sighing. Ishida wouldn't leave Orihime until the fighting had finished. Orihime was too busy trying to convince him to notice. She turned and left to go home.

--

Aimi fell back onto her bed, putting her hands behind her head.

_That boy seemed familiar… _she thought, her eyes narrowing. She closed her eyes.

_--_

"_That will be all for your lesson today my dear." An elderly man said to a young Aimi. Aimi whined._

"_But that was too short!!" she cried, pouting. Her sensei laughed._

"_My grandson is here. It's his turn now." He explained. Aimi sighed, and still pouting, she stood up and started to go through the forest to go back home. She stopped and then turned and crept back. She peered through the trees and saw a young boy that looked her age with glasses. He looked straight at her, and their eyes locked._

Aimi sat up suddenly.

"He's that boy from years ago!!" she cried. She put her head between her knees. "It couldn't be…"

--

The next day Aimi walked to school alone. She had left early so that she wouldn't be caught walking with Orihime. She understood why most of Orihime's friends ignored her. She had felt their spirit energy. They most likely thought she was an enemy. Aimi didn't want to cause Orihime any more trouble.

_It'll be safer for her too if she didn't get involved with Daito. _Aimi added in her thoughts and sighed as she entered the school. She went into the classroom and sat down at her desk, thinking. She glanced at Ishida, who was reading a book. Aimi stood up and walked up to his desk.

"Um…Ishida...-san?" she began.

"Yes?" Ishida answered, not looking up from his book. Aimi hesitated.

"What was your grandfather's name?" she then asked. Ishida looked up at her, surprised.

"Ishida…Soken…Why?" he said. Aimi looked away for a second to his her shocked face.

"I was just curious…" she answered and went back to her own desk. Ishida went back to his book.

_It __is__ her…_ he thought.

Slowly, everyone then began to come into the classroom. Right before the bell rang, Orihime burst in, breathing heavily.

"Inoue? Why are you so late?" Rukia said, surprised. Orihime walked towards her. She glanced at Aimi for a moment, and fortunately Rukia didn't notice. She noticed Aimi was ignoring her, her face a little sad.

"Eh…I forgot to set my alarm last night." Orihime answered sheepishly, understanding what Aimi was doing.

"Oh! Orihime, you look so cute when you admit that you did something like that!!" Chizuru randomly cried and started to go to her, only to get kicked in the face by Tatsuki.

"You and your weird tastes." Tatsuki said, now annoyed, even though she had just came to school. The classroom was soon lively, and Aimi kept quiet.

Aimi looked at Ishida again. Ishida briefly looked at her, looked away, and then back at his book. Aimi sighed. Everyone acted as if nothing happened the day before.

--

"Inoue, you were attacked yesterday when you were with that Aimi woman?" Rukia asked. Orihime looked at her surprised.

"Um…Yes…" she answered quietly. The group became serious.

"Inoue, we need to be careful! What if you would've gotten hurt??" Rukia cried. "She might not be on our side!"

"But what if she isn't on Gin's side? That would mean we would be rude to her for no reason!" she then said. Rukia, Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad looked at her.

"Orihime, you never can be too sure. We are going to have to keep our distance and watch her for a while." Rukia said. She then paused. "Or, even kill her if we have to."

Orihime's eyes widened.

"Oi! Isn't that a little too much?? I understand all the other things but-" Ichigo cried, shocked by Rukia's words.

"But what? You saw how much trouble it was with Aizen's Rebellion! This girl's reatsiu screams out 'danger' every time we're near her! You never know what'll happen!!" Rukia yelled. Orihime then ran off. Rukia stuttered.

"Inoue! You have to-" she yelled after Orihime.

"Oi, Rukia. We shouldn't go that far!" Ichigo protested, interrupting her.

"She is right though." A white-haired short boy said, walking up to the group along with a bald guy, a redhead with huge boobs, and an Egyptian-looking guy. "After Aizen's rebellion, it ruined much of the balance between the two worlds. You all almost died just from trying to save that Inoue woman."

"Matsumoto-san! Yumichika-san! Ikkaku-san! Toushirou!" Ichigo cried, surprised.

"Hitsugaya Taicho for you!" Hitsugaya said, annoyed. "Anyways, we will be observing that woman more closely. Soul Society sent us when they heard your report."

"We'll be watching her and all of your homes from different places. We'll make sure you're all safe." Matsumoto then said, with a serious look on her face, which was quite unusual. The group nodded.

Suddenly, the bell rang and the group separated, hurrying back to class, while the shinigami disappearing in their hiding places.

--

Aimi watched as the group came back. She could tell that it was another meeting about her. This time though, it was different. Orihime had come much earlier than the rest, and Ichigo and Chad seemed to be a bit worried. Rukia was just serious as usual, and Ishida's face was blank. Aimi wondered what had happened, but she knew that she would have to watch what she was doing from now on.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Here's Chapter 3! I'm sorry if it seems kinda rushed.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--

**Author's Note:**

Just to let you all know, I'm going to try to update on the 9th of every month. I know Chapter 3's late, and I'm sorry about that. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

--

10th squad Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou sat on top of Orihime's roof. His eyes narrowed as he saw Orihime walking with Aimi again.

"Matsumoto." He suddenly said quickly. A figure suddenly appeared next to him.

"Hai?" Matsumoto immediately answered him. Hitsugaya stood up.

"Go follow that Aimi woman. We need to see where she lives. Watch her every move." He ordered.

"I will leave right now." Matsumoto answered, and in a flash, she was gone and running on top of another roof.

--

Orihime sighed, entering her apartment. She closed the door behind her.

"What were you doing, walking with her?" said a voice. Orihime, startled, looked up to see Hitsugaya in front of her.

"Eh...I...I just wanted to make her feel better…No one has been her friend at school…" she answered sheepishly.

"I recall that just yesterday you were attacked? What if she planned that? When you and the boy with glasses left, the fight was extremely short…" Hitsugaya interrupted. Orihime bowed her head.

"I'm…sorry…" she said quietly. She then walked quickly to her own room. Hitsugaya sighed.

"Mattaku…" he said. "Why did this have to happen now?" he then went back on top of the roof and waited for Matsumoto's return.

--

Matsumoto stopped, watching the girl walk home. The girl looked behind her, then up at the roof, sensing something. Matsumoto, surprised, lay low. The girl narrowed her eyes, and then began to walk again, this time, faster.

"Apparently I need to be a little more careful around this girl." Matsumoto said to herself, narrowing her eyes. They soon reached the girl's house. The girl calmly entered her home without looking back if anyone followed her. After she was inside, Matsumoto walked up to the house. She stopped about 5 meters away, and lifted her hand, putting it in front of her. There as a flash, then her hand recoiled.

"A barrier…?" she said quietly in a surprised voice. She then disappeared to report back to Hitsugaya.

--

Orihime looked at Aimi worriedly as the teacher was in the middle of a lesson.

_Poor Aimi-san… _she thought. She sighed and glanced at Ishida. He had acted like nothing had happened a few days before. She wondered what he was thinking about.

_"Inoue, you never can be too sure. We are going to have to keep our distance and watch her for a while…"_

_**"…Or, even kill her if we have to."**_

Those last few words echoed in her head. Rukia and the others were making a huge mistake…

For the past few days Aimi had avoided Orihime, trying not to cause any trouble. The fact that she was a Quincy was only known to Orihime and Ishida.

Orihime looked at Ishida again. Why didn't he do anything? She was surprisingly frustrated. After all, Aimi was one of his kind…

She sighed again. Aimi was having a tough time making other friends, and to add to it, Rukia and the rest of the group were acting like Aimi was their arch enemy. Orihime wished she could do something to help.

When the bell rang for the end of the school day, Orihime got her schoolbag and walked outside the classroom, where Tatsuki was waiting for her.

"What's with the sad face, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, a little worried. Orihime looked at her and smiled.

"It's nothing!! Come on, Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime said cheerfully and started to run out of the school, laughing. Tatsuki looked at her worriedly, shrugged, and then she ran after her, laughing as well.

Aimi watched the two laughing girls with a little smile. She sighed and started to walk out of the school. Suddenly, she saw Ishida pass her quickly without saying a word. Aimi stopped and looked at him, a sad look in her eyes. She then started to walk out of the school again.

After coming out of the school, Aimi walked home alone. She sighed.

"Yare yare….So much homework for tonight…" she said to no one in particular. She sighed again. She missed walking home with someone. She missed having a cheerful soul next to her. She was a little lonely, with all the girls not bothering to be friends with her, and with Rukia and the others acting like she was an enemy. She looked up longingly at the sky.

"Hey Dad, what do you think I should do?" she asked. Of course, there was no answer. Aimi closed her eyes as a breeze lightly blew against her. Suddenly, she turned her face now serious.

"Who's there?" she said abruptly. Orihime came out from behind a building.

"Orihime…-san? What are you doing here?" Aimi said, surprised.

"Aimi-san…Are you okay…?" Orihime said quietly.

"I'm…fine, why?" Aimi answered her. Orihime hesitated for a moment.

"Aimi-san...Do you…Do you worry about what's going to happen?" she finally said. Aimi looked at her, surprised. She then looked up at the sky again.

"Yes…And no…" she answered. "I take it you've been feeling it too? He is coming back soon and he's going to do his best to kill me." She smiled and looked at Orihime.

"I'll be fine Orihime. Worry about yourself. After all, you've got many friends that would hate to see you in danger. I'm going to be fine." Aimi continued. She then started to walk home again, leaving Orihime.

_You won't be fine, Aimi-san…And you know it… _Orihime thought as Aimi started to walk away.

"Aimi-san, wait!" Orihime cried suddenly. Aimi turned, surprised.

"What about Ishida-kun?" Orihime continued. To her surprise, Aimi blushed.

"Um…I…I guess as long as he doesn't make things worse, I don't really care." Aimi lied. Orihime, now confused, watched as Aimi disappeared from her view.

"Why did she blush when I mentioned Ishida-kun?" Orihime wondered aloud. She sighed.

"Be careful, Aimi-san." She then said. She walked away to her own home.

--

"Mom! I'm home!" Aimi yelled as she entered her apartment. There was no answer. Aimi looked and saw a note on the kitchen counter.

_Aimi,_

_I'm on a little trip. I'll be gone until tomorrow morning. Be careful tonight. Try to not come out of the house. I have a very bad feeling that something bad will happen to you…Be extremely careful…_

_Love,_

_Mom_

"Huh. That was a bit sudden." Aimi thought aloud. She put down the note. She went to the fridge to grab something to eat.

"Aw man! Mom forgot to go grocery shopping! Oh well, it's ok if I go outside just to get something to eat." Aimi then said. She turned off all the lights and locked the door behind her. She walked out of the apartment and out onto the street. Even though it had begun to get dark, she decided to take a shortcut in the forest.

A shadowy figure looked down at Aimi from the trees.

"It's time…To end this…" it said.

Orihime walked home just as it was getting dark. She sighed and got herself a drink of water from the sink. She sat down at her little table. She still worried about Aimi. They both knew that there was a chance that Aimi would never come to school again. She looked out into the window. Aimi's reatsiu was rising…

Aimi glared at the figure, now in her Quincy form.

"Looks like Mom's assumption was right." She said to herself quietly. The figure emerged from the shadows.

"Ah, so your mother knew I was coming? Didn't she warn you then?" said the figure.

"It's not that hard to tell that you're there, Daito." Aimi answered him. Daito smiled and unsheathed his sword.

"Then let's end this once and for all." He said. Aimi got out her bow and knocked an arrow. Daito lunged at her and the battle began…


	4. Chapter 4

Orihime put down the glass she had just drunk from

Hey guys!

Sorry, I know it's been 2 months now. Hurricane Ike attacked my town and our power was knocked out for a couple weeks, so I postponed this chapter until October 9th, which is today. Here it is!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--

Orihime put down the glass she had just drunk from into the sink. She looked worriedly at the forest a little a ways from her house, where Aimi was fighting.

"It's that man again…Aimi's fighting him…" She then said quietly to no one in particular. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"His reatsiu…It's so much bigger…Aimi!" she cried. She burst out the door. Matsumoto and Hitsugaya had gone to care of a couple of hollows, so it was quite easy for her to escape and run for help. She stopped suddenly. Where exactly was she going to run to? Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, and the other shinigami weren't going to help. Suddenly, she knew.

--

Aimi breathed heavily, already exhausted from running. All around her, what used to be large trees was now nothing but charred stumps and ashes.

_Damn it…That bastard hid his reatsiu until now! I had no idea… _she thought. She took a deep breath, and then released it, trying to relax.

"Why'd you hide all this until now?" she then asked out of curiosity. Daito chuckled.

"I thought I could kill you without using much power, so I could torture you a little first." He answered, smirking. He began to laugh maniacally and Aimi narrowed her eyes, annoyed. Daito then attacked her again, and she quickly flash-stepped away. She could feel her strength draining away quickly, and her bow began to misshapen. Daito noticed this, and smiling, so sure that it was his victory. Aimi, seeing this, was now even more determined to defeat him and she knocked an arrow and shot it at Daito. Daito didn't move, and to Aimi's surprise, the arrow missed him by about a meter.

"Where are ya aiming, idiot girl?!" Daito yelled, grinning.

_I'm getting weaker by the minute…My aim is suddenly worsening…_ Aimi thought, gritting her teeth in frustration. Daito then sprinted towards her, his sword ready. Aimi flash-stepped again, but this time she was a little too slow. Daito's sword cut her shoulder a little, opening up the wound. Blood started to flow down her arm profusely. Aimi gritted her teeth and flash-stepped 20 meters away. She ripped off part of her skirt and used it as a bandage. The pain lessened, but only by a small amount. Aimi knew she had to think of something to end the fight quickly, or else she wouldn't have a chance…

--

Orihime finally reached her destination. She knocked on the door in front of her. It was opened by Ishida, whose eyes widened, surprised.

"Inoue…-san?" he said in a disbelieving voice.

"Ishida-kun! You…Have to help…Me save…Aimi-san!" Orihime burst out, still breathing hard from the run she just had. Ishida sighed.

"Inoue-san, you know that we still don't know whose side she is on…What if you get hurt out there this time?" he said in a pained voice. Orihime began to get frustrated.

"But that's the reason I came here, and she IS on our side!! Ishida-kun, she's one of your kind! She's a Quincy just like you! Don't Quincys hate shinigami? Why would she work with that other guy??" Orihime said quickly in an irritated voice. Ishida stuttered for a moment, surprised by her tone.

"Inoue-san…" he began quietly, trying to explain. Orihime, calming down a little, looked out into the distance where Aimi was fighting, her face showing how worried she was.

"And I think…I think she likes you, Ishida-kun… Are you going to just let her get hurt??" she said frantically. She looked back at him. Ishida's glasses flashed in the moonlight, hiding his reaction. He didn't answer her.

--

Aimi dodged Daito again and again, rarely shooting her arrows. She was getting slower and slower, and she saw that Daito was catching up to her speed. Her bow wavered, threatening to disappear. She began to shake from exhaustion. Daito lunged at her again and again, not stopping for one moment.

"No, not yet...Hold out, Aimi..." she mumbled to herself. Daito smiled, feeling triumphant, and Aimi then flash-stepped once again. This time she appeared behind Daito, but he saw thorough her trick. He swung his sword out before she could fire her arrow. The sword cut into her shoulder and she flash-stepped back a few meters and fell to her knees.

"Give it up, little Aimi-chan. It's obviously in my favor." Daito said, putting his sword on his own shoulder. He tapped his shoulder with it, waiting for her to stand. Aimi gritted her teeth in pain and in anger.

"It's not over...yet." she said slowly and got up. She began to dodge Daito's blows again and again…Over and over…It seemed like he would endlessly keep slamming down his sword onto the ground. She felt her strength waning, and she wished he would finally stop…

Suddenly, he did stop.

Aimi, now breathing hard, stopped as well and stared at him, surprised. Daito stood, unmoving. Aimi, puzzled, tensed up a little. Her eyes then widened.

Daito suddenly stood in front of her, catching her off-guard. She felt sharp pain and looked down. She saw Daito's sword lodged in her stomach. Almost immediately, her strength totally disappeared.

Daito twisted his sword slightly in Aimi's stomach, causing her to cry out in pain. He began to slowly and painfully remove his sword. Suddenly, he ripped the sword out of her, causing her to cough up blood, and her bow finally disappeared completely. She then fell to the cold hard ground on her knees. She coughed up blood again and struggled to breathe. Daito smiled and lifted his sword to deliver the finishing blow. Aimi closed her eyes and braced herself.

Nothing happened. Aimi dared to open her eyes.

"What are you doing here??" she hoarsely cried.

Ishida and Orihime stood in front of her with a shield protecting them, and Daito stared at the two with a shocked face, his sword not even cracking the shield. Orihime looked back at Aimi, a relieved look on her face that showed a slight sign of satisfaction.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys!

OMFG!!!! THE FIRST NON-LATE CHAPTER!!!!

Yay! I have finally succeeded in posting a chapter on time!!! I happily give you guys November 2008's Chapter 5! XD

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm saving you of course..." Ishida said. Aimi smiled a little.

"Now, Aimi-san, it's time you take a break while I heal you!" Orihime said. She turned to Ishida. "Ishida-kun, do you think you can handle him?"

Ishida nodded. Daito gritted his teeth.

"Look, you two. I don't care about fighting you guys. I just want HER." he said, pointing at Aimi. Aimi glared at him. Ishida and Orihime stood in front of Aimi protectively, glaring at him as well. Daito shrugged.

"Fine, it's your funeral." He said, and then attacked Ishida. Aimi tried to get up, but failed.

"Aimi-san, don't worry! Ishida-kun will be fine. You just need to relax and let me heal you." Orihime said quickly, panicking that Aimi would hurt herself even more. Aimi hesitated for a moment, but she lay down and closed her eyes. She heard and felt the ground shake from Daito slamming his sword hard on the ground. She heard Ishida's arrows flying and crashing into some of the trees nearby. She couldn't tell who was winning...

--

Ishida wasn't having too much trouble with Daito, but Daito was a bit tricky. Ishida wasn't sure what order his movements went in, and all the man did was jump and slam the sword down as hard as he could. Ishida tried to see if Daito was holding back. He couldn't tell. He shot an arrow at Daito, who dodged it.

"Nani? Can't do any better than little Aimi-chan?" Daito taunted Ishida. Ishida ignored him, trying to keep his cool.

Aimi held her breath through the battle without noticing. She hated to not be able to know what was going on, but was afraid to open her eyes. Suddenly, she heard some people running, then an explosion. For some reason, she didn't hear anything after that. She did not open her eyes though.

"Orihime! Are you alright? What happened?" said a voice. Aimi recognized it. It belonged to Rukia. She finally opened her eyes and sat up and prepared to see Rukia's icy stare. Instead though, she saw a warm glow in Rukia's eyes.

"What's going on?" Aimi asked, now confused.

"That bastard ran away the second he saw us coming. He sure is a coward." Ichigo said, sitting on a nearby rock in his shinigami form, his hand on his huge sword.

"But I thought you guys were against me...." Aimi started again, even more puzzled.

"Yes well, your mother caught us for a second before she left. She may be human, but she is an ally for Soul Society. Captain Hitsugaya recognized her at once." Matsumoto said, coming towards them with Hitsugaya.

Aimi relaxed a bit. Ishida walked up to her and crouched down.

"Are you alright?" he asked Aimi. Aimi felt her face flush a little. She nodded, surprised. Ishida stood back up. He held out his hand to her to help her up. She took it and got up.

Rukia and Orihime smiled.

"I'm so sorry for being so rude to you, Aimi." Rukia then said, a little embarrassed. She bowed. Aimi sweat dropped and smiled at her.

"It's alright. I understand what you all went through just a couple weeks ago. Orihime explained everything to me. I would've probably done the same if I were you." She said, trying to reassure Rukia. Rukia nodded in thanks.

"Okay now, so who was that guy anyway?" Ichigo interrupted, getting impatient.

"I'm not really sure. I don't even know him except for the fact that his name is Daito, and that for some odd reason he's out to get me." Aimi answered him, crossing her arms. She winced from the pain that came from her stomach wound.

"Aimi, you need to take it easy for a while. When he removed that sword from you, it only made that wound worse." Ishida said worriedly. Ichigo started to snicker in the background.

"Looks like Ishida's got a girlfriend." He said quietly. Ishida turned red.

"Kurosaki! What's so wrong about worrying about someone that just got wounded badly??" he yelled at Ichigo. The two started to argue, making Rukia and Orihime smile, and Aimi to blush.

--

Aimi walked into the classroom, only to be surrounded by a bunch of curious girls.

"Aimi, are you ok?"

"We heard you were in the hospital..."

"What happened?"

"Don't leave out any details!!"

Aimi sweat dropped, trying to think of how to answer the millions of questions asked by all the girls.

"Um…I…I crashed through a window…" she answered meekly and escaped from the crowd. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She put down her book bag on her desk and began removing the contents of it.

"Aimi-san, how are you feeling?" asked a hyper voice. Aimi looked up. It was Orihime.

"Oh…Orihime-san...A lot better. Ayame and Shouno helped out a lot, but they told me the best thing to do now is to just be careful and let it heal on its own." Aimi answered. "Thanks again anyways. I was starting to get worried about what on earth I was going to do…"

Orihime smiled at Aimi.

"No problem. Is your mom back yet?" she then asked. Aimi's face fell.

"No…I don't know what happened…She was supposed to be back a few days ago…" she said, her voice hinting that she was very worried. Orihime's face fell for a moment, but then she smiled.

"Don't worry, she'll be back before you know it!!" she said cheerfully. Aimi gave her a small grateful smile. Orihime went back to talking to her friends. Aimi closed her eyes for a moment.

"Mom, be careful…" she whispered under her breath.

--

After school Aimi dropped her book bag on the floor in her room and collapsed on her bed.

"Guess Mom isn't back yet…" she said, sighing. She suddenly heard the shrieking scream of a hollow and she sat up and looked at through window. She saw a spirit running from the hollow. The spirit tripped, and closed his eyes, ready for his impending doom. Aimi changed into a Quincy, prepared to jump out and save the spirit. She narrowed her eyes.

The hollow ran past the spirit.

Aimi suddenly knew. It was after HER.

Aimi jumped away from the window, an arrow knocked in her bow. The hollow crashed in and she shot the arrow. The arrow crashed through the wall behind the hollow and the hollow was gone. Aimi's eyes narrowed again.

"How could it have dodged it…?" she said to herself in disbelief. Suddenly, the hollow was behind her. Aimi quickly jumped through the hole in the wall and landed in the street.

"Aimi-san!!" a voice called. The hollow suddenly disappeared. Aimi turned and saw Orihime and the others run towards her.

"Orihime-san…" Aimi said, a little surprised.

"Are you all right, Aimi?" Rukia asked. Aimi nodded.

"We came after feeling that hollow's reatsiu." Ichigo explained.

"It disappeared about a second after you came running. There's something strange about it, though. It dodged my attacks with no trouble at all." Aimi said.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked. Before Aimi could explain, the hollow came back. Everyone prepared to battle it. Suddenly, they all gasped.

"That's not just any hollow…" Rukia began.

"What is it then...? It's mask…" Aimi asked, confused.

"It's an arrancar." Ishida said in disbelief.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Well, here's chapter 6! The story's not quite done yet! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No wonder its reatsiu was so high!" Orihime said. Aimi stared at the hollow, which had only half its mask on.

"You've never seen or heard of an arrancar, huh, Aimi?" Rukia asked. Aimi nodded.

"Master wishes you dead, Aimi Koroke…" the arrancar said, unsheathing its sword. Aimi's eyes widened.

"What…What on earth did I do?? Who's your master??" she cried.

"There is no need for you to know who Master is." The arrancar said. He swung down his sword. Ichigo blocked it. He then slashed the arrancar and killed it.

"Looks like the Bastard has finally made his move…" Ichigo said, gritting his teeth.

"What's going on here???" Aimi cried. "What is an arrancar…And who are you talking about??"

"We'll explain soon. We need to go to Urahara's." Rukia said. The rest agreed.

--

"I see…So Gin is following Aizen's footsteps perhaps…?" Urahara said after listening to their explanation. He looked at the very confused Aimi. Aimi blinked.

"What are you looking at me for?? What the hell is going on here????" Aimi blurted out impatiently.

"Ah yes…You don't know about Aizen and the arrancar, do you, Aimi?" Urahara said, still looking at her. Aimi sighed and nodded.

"Well, my mom made sure I wouldn't get involved in these things…" Aimi said. "I guess that's why she was so worried about me lately…So how about explaining to me what is an arrancar and who's this Aizen person?"

"Aizen was once one of the captains of the Gotei 13. He betrayed Soul Society along with Tousen and Gin, who were also captains, and they took the hougyokou to Hueco Mundo. The Hougyokou was a powerful small gem-like thing that was used to create arrancar, which are hollows that have removed their masks and obtained zanpaktos. Aizen planned on using Karakura town to create the king's key, in order to kill the king in Soul Society." Urahara explained. "Aizen's plan was stopped by Soul Society and us, and he and Tousen were killed. Unfortunately, Gin escaped, and we do not know where he is or what he is planning…"

"So that explains why all of you were so suspicious of me. You were afraid that I was on that guy's side. But why would he send an arrancar to kill me? I've never even met him." Aimi said.

"Well, that's why we're here. We have no idea why." Rukia answered. Urahara nodded.

"What do you think we should do now then?" Aimi asked.

"I suggest you lay low for a while. Try not to be alone too long. You never know when there might be another attack." Urahara answered.

"Since your apartment was destroyed, and your mother isn't back yet, you can stay with me then, just to be safe. Captain Hitsugaya and Matsumoto-san will be there." Orihime added cheerfully. Urahara nodded.

"That is a good idea…But you need to stay on your guard." Urahara said. Aimi nodded. They all stood up and Aimi and the others left.

"What do you think Gin wants with Aimi?" Yourichi asked, coming out from a different room. Urahara sighed.

"He most likely wants his only threat gone…Forever." He answered.

--

Aimi walked to school with Orihime. It was a few days later since Aimi had finally learned about Aizen, the arrancar, and Gin. There was no sign of an arrancar, or Daito for that matter…

As Orihime chattered on about a homework assignment that was due that day, Aimi was deep in her own thoughts. She put her hand into her schoolbag, feeling a piece of paper safely tucked in a pocket. Her mother had finally sent another note the day before…It had said:

_Aimi,_

_I understand that an arrancar tried to come after you, and I heard about Daito's attack. I'm so sorry for never telling you the truth…I didn't want you to worry. Please be careful…I know Ishida's father pretty well, as well as Ichigo's father. Your own father and uncle were good friends with them. Stay with them and Urahara as much as possible. I can't tell you where I am now, but I will as soon as I can. Unfortunately, this is taking much longer than expected. I'm sorry if you were worried, but don't. I will be sending you an update when I can…Remember; I love you so much…_

_Mom_

Aimi let go of the note and her hand balled into a fist. Why did her mother keep this huge secret from her?? Why was she kept in the dark for so long??

Aimi blinked back tears that welled up in her eyes. How on earth could she not worry when her mother's location was unknown, and for unknown purposes?? She breathed in and out carefully and quietly and tried to listen to Orihime, but failed miserably…

--

After enduring a tiring school day, Aimi walked home with everyone quietly, still thinking about the note.

"Aimi-san? Are you okay?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah, ya seem to be spacing out lately…" Ichigo continued. Aimi smiled.

"Sorry…It's just all overwhelming, that's all! After all, I just found out about everything…" she answered cheerfully.

"Don't worry; everything's going to be okay. Your mother should return safely soon." Rukia said, trying her best to comfort Aimi. Aimi smiled gratefully at Rukia for trying.

_I have to talk to him today…_ Aimi thought.

--

"Well then, what should I make for dinner?" Orihime said cheerfully, not really asking anyone in particular. She dropped her schoolbag and went into the kitchen. Aimi sweat dropped, not particularly excited about Orihime's strange cooking. She put down her school bag and went to the guest room, which was her room until her mother had returned. Matsumoto was surveying the town for any hollow or danger, and Hitsugaya was up on the roof as usual. The peacefulness disturbed Aimi just a little. Shouldn't have something attacked them by now? She sighed went to the front door, taking her wallet so she could get something to eat later on.

"I'm heading out." She said. "I'm going to Urahara's, so I won't be too far."

"What? Aw…I was trying to make something special today for you, Aimi!" Orihime yelled from the kitchen. Aimi shivered a little. "Something special" usually meant something even more revolting.

"I'm really sorry, Orihime-san! But this is really important!!" she said and went out the door.

Orihime sighed.

"Wait, what am I doing?? I can't be sad! I'll just share with Rangiku-san tonight!!" she said happily.

--

"Boss! It's the Quincy girl!" Jinta yelled. Urahara stood up and walked towards the front door of the shop.

"Ah! It's Aimi-san! How are you?" he said in a cheerful voice. Aimi gave him a serious look, and his face changed into a serious one as well.

"What exactly have you been hiding, Urahara?" she said, taking out the note her mother had sent her. On the back, in red letters, it said:

_If you aren't attacked for a while, go to Urahara._

Urahara sighed and put his hands in his sleeves.

"I knew you'd come to me soon with that. Come with me to the back, I'll show you." He said. Aimi followed him and they were soon alone in the back of the store.

"So, what's this all about?" Aimi asked. Urahara didn't answer. He removed a few boxes from the top shelf until he got to the very back. There was a chestnut-colored wooden box that was decorated with carvings of fire. He took it in his hands and showed it to Aimi.

"This," he began. "Is the truth."


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Chapter 7 is finally here!

This was an interesting chapter to write. I noticed how Aimi only got know Orihime and Ishida well, so I decided to let her get to know the main character of Bleach, Ichigo. I actually think it turned out pretty well. Hope you enjoy, and don't for get to review!

Note: If you also like Code Geass, I will be posting a fan fiction for it soon. More info will be posted next month.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

--

"Truth? What truth?" Aimi asked, surprised.

"I cannot tell you. Your father told me to give you this when Daito and other dangerous people that you did not know about start attacking you." Urahara answered. Aimi looked at him.

"My…My father?" she asked in disbelief. Urahara nodded. Aimi took the box into her hands and traced the carvings on it with her finger. She noticed it was very old; it was chipped and scratched, yet the lock on it held it closed tightly.

"Wait, how do you open it? Where's the key?" Aimi asked, looking at the lock, her face confused.

"You father said, 'The key is within you. It isn't entirely solid, nor is it something you can usually see, but it is within you.'" Urahara answered.

"Damn it, I always hated it when Dad gave me riddles…" Aimi muttered angrily. Urahara chuckled.

"Well, you'd better get going before the others get worried." He then said. Aimi nodded and thanked him. She then left.

--

Aimi tossed the box around in her hands, trying to figure out the riddle. She also tried to figure out what "truth" was concealed in this simple little box. It didn't really surprise her that there was something else hidden from her after 15 years. After all, her mother had hidden half of her world from her, hadn't she?

Aimi sighed after her mother's face appeared in her mind. Where was she now? Was she alright?

Aimi stopped by a small shop and bought herself a bento so she could avoid eating Orihime's experiments.

"Well you're depressed, aren't you?" said a familiar voice. Aimi turned.

"Oh, hi…Ichigo, right?" Aimi said, a little surprised at the orange-haired tall boy that had spoken to her.

"Yeah, and you're that problematic Quincy girl, Aimi, right?" Ichigo answered. Aimi sweat dropped.

"I guess…" she answered uncertainly.

"So, where exactly is your dad?" Ichigo asked. Aimi slightly winced at the last word.

"He's…Not here right now…" she trailed off. Ichigo understood immediately.

"My mom was killed by a hollow." He said. Aimi muffled a gasp and looked at him.

"Oh…I'm sorry-"

"It's okay. Ishida's grandpa was killed by some huge hollows, Chad's family died a while ago and Orihime's brother turned into a hollow after he died in a car accident. All of us lost someone in our families in the past, so we're all kind of the same." Ichigo interrupted. Aimi bowed her head.

"My dad disappeared along with Oji-san awhile back, and he was found dead a few days later. Oji-san is still nowhere to be found. And…Ishida's grandfather was my sensei after Oji-san and dad left." Aimi explained.

"Wow. Does Ishida know?'

"I'm not sure. He didn't say anything." Aimi answered. She began to play with the wooden box again.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked, looking at the box and changing the subject quickly.

"This? Oh, Urahara gave me this. He said that it holds some kind of 'truth' in it, and there's a riddle for the key." Aimi explained. "Unfortunately, I'm no good when it comes to riddles."

"Ah...Me neither…So I guess I won't be any help…" Ichigo said, sweat dropping. Aimi nodded.

"Hey, why don't you ask Ishida? He's good at this kind of stuff." Ichigo suddenly said. Aimi shrugged.

"I guess I can ask him at school tomorrow. What day is it today anyway?" she asked.

"Um…It's the 27th, why?" Ichigo answered.

"Strike that. I don't think I'll be able to tomorrow. See ya, Ichigo-san." Aimi suddenly said, and ran off towards Orihime's apartment.

"What was that about?" he asked no one in particular. He shrugged and walked off to his own house.

--

Aimi went to her room just as Orihime and Rangiku began to eat. She closed the door behind her, trying her hardest to ignore the high-pitched squeals coming from the living room. She rummaged through her bag of things she had brought from her damaged apartment.

"There it is…" she said. She removed a picture with a very elegant frame. It was the picture of her, her uncle, and her father. She smiled, looking at the grinning 9-year-old. She the picture on her little nightstand and went to take a shower.

--

The next day, Orihime found that Aimi was already gone. She read the note that Aimi had left in the kitchen.

_Orihime_

_I'm skipping school for today. I'll explain why later. Don't worry; I'll be on my guard._

_Aimi_

Orihime sighed. She put the note down and got ready for school. Just as she went out the door, something caught her eye. She backed up.

On the calendar was a circled date.

"Huh…That's today…But why…?" Orihime wondered. She read the small note on the date. Her eyes grew sad.

"Of course…" she said quietly. She then left.

--

Aimi put some flowers on a grave and lit some incense. She kneeled and began to pray. She wore a black dress and a black ribbon was tied in her hair. She then stood up and looked at the grave, tears in her eyes.

"Hey Dad…How are ya doing?" she whispered. She wiped away her tears and smiled. She took out the wooden box, still trying to figure out how to open it.

"Dad…Why is it that so much has been hidden from me? Were you and Mom trying to protect me?" she asked, looking up at the sky again. "What the hell is going on?"

--

"Hey, where's Aimi?" Ichigo asked when Orihime came to school alone.

"Oh…It's the fifth anniversary of her father's death…" Orihime answered quietly. Ishida, Rukia, and Chad looked at her.

"She didn't say anything yesterday when I talked to her…" Ichigo said, a little surprised.

"Is it alright for her to be alone?" Rukia asked.

"I think she'll be alright. I'm still a little worried though…This Daito person nor the other man has attacked for a long time…It might be the perfect time for them now…" Orihime answered.

"We'll check on her after school." Rukia said.

--

A few hours later, Aimi still sat in front of the grave, explaining everything that had happened. She explained that Urahara had given her the box, though the riddle was no help at all. She began to play with the box, trying to figure it out.

"No luck, eh?" said a familiar voice. Aimi looked up and immediately stood up.

Daito looked at her and smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! Chapter 8 is finally here!

Note: To All of my Code Geass Fans: I am officially announcing the date of the release of Chapter 1 of my Code Geass Fanfiction: A Split-Ended Road of Darkness. It features Season 2 of Code Geass, in my revised version. I have added a character of my own and rewrote the entire series. The Chapter 1 release date will be March 17, 2009, and a new chapter will be posted on the 17th of every month. Hope some of you will read it, and suggest it to your friends!

A Second Note: The Lost Secrets of the Quincy is ending soon! Book II of the Aimi Trilogy, A Choice of Fire or Ice, is to be released soon. The release date of Chapter 1 is N/A.

Hope this may brighten a few spirits! (Pun not intended) And don't forget to review, flame, whatever. I'm cold here....

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

---

"What the hell are you doing here?? Can't you give me some peace?" Aimi cried, her hand on her Quincy necklace.

"Oh, I did give you some peace for quite a while. You're stupid shinigami friends wouldn't leave an opening anywhere. I got pretty pissed off, but now you've given me a perfect chance. I might not succeed in getting my revenge today, but that box," Daito pointed at the box angrily. "That box is the source of all the trouble."

"What the-? What are you talking about? Just what the hell is this thing anyway??" Aimi cried. Her hands gripped onto the box a little tighter, hoping that Daito would explain to her what was inside of it.

"Oh, you don't have to know. You won't be able to use it anyways." Daito answered and flash stepped towards Aimi. Aimi cursed and immediately dodged and activated her powers. She shot an arrow at Daito, who easily dodged. The both landed on the ground, and Daito charged at her again and Aimi flash stepped away.

Ichigo, Ishida, Orihime, Chad, and Rukia felt Aimi's reatsiu rise immediately.

"Um…I need to go to the nurse!" Ichigo cried and ran off. Rukia, Ishida, Orihime, and Chad quickly followed.

"What-What the-?? There's no way ALL of you need to go to the nurse!!!!" the teacher cried, only to be ignored.

"What was that?" Kiego asked.

"I don't know…" Mizuro answered.

Aimi couldn't understand what Daito was doing. His strikes were just too easy to dodge. What did he have up his sleeve?

Aimi looked at the ground and noticed that the box was now much closer to Daito. She understood immediately. She took the risk and flash stepped towards Daito and grabbed the box and dodged his attack again. This time, Daito's sword contacted Aimi's leg, giving her a huge gash.

"Crap…You bastard…" Aimi muttered, landing 20 feet away. The box dropped next to her, and she fell to her knees, just as her leg gave away.

"Aimi-san!"

Aimi and Daito looked to see the entire group standing there.

"Well, looks like little Aimi-chan has some back-up every time she gets into a fight, eh? Well, she must be pretty weak then…" Daito said. Aimi glared at him.

Ichigo, who was in shinigami form charged at Daito.

"Wait…Ichigo…Stop-!" Aimi cried. Ichigo didn't listen and clashed swords with Daito. Aimi heaved a sigh.

"What the hell are you doing??" she yelled at him.

"Aimi! Open that box!" Ichigo cried. Aimi gave him a surprised look, and then quickly nodded and ran through the riddle in her head.

_Come on…Come on…Think…_ she thought frantically. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think.

Ichigo gave one last push against Daito and they both jumped back.

"Any ideas?" Ichigo asked the group, who were right behind him. Ishida activated his bow, Rukia called out her sword, and Chad called out his defense arm. Orihime was ready with her Flowers.

"Not entirely. He is quite the opponent." Ishida answered him.

Orihime nervously looked at Aimi, who gave her a panicked look back.

"We'll have to hold him off until Aimi figures out how to open that thing." Rukia then said after Orihime passed on the message from Aimi to Rukia with one look. Ishida, Chad, and Ichigo nodded. Ichigo attacked Daito again.

Daito marveled at Ichigo's speed. He had never seen anything like it before. He had just left Soul Society in search of Aimi just a century ago. Why were there so many shinigami here now? The boy, Ichigo, was most certainly of Captain level.

Daito and Ichigo jumped back 20 yards away from each other.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo cried, slicing the air and releasing a huge blast of spirit power in a slicing form. Daito's eyes widened as he attempted to dodge the blast. He began to run away from the fight, only to be blocked by Ishida.

"Oh no you don't." Ishida said. Daito gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath as he was surrounded by the other members of the group.

Daito tried to think up a plan in his head. He was tempted to run away again.

_NO! I need to get that box! If Aimi opens it… _he thought, shaking the idea out of his head. He faced glanced around the group, thinking of who would be an easy target. He knew what powers Ishida and Orihime had, and some of Ichigo's power. He felt that Ichigo had something hidden up his sleeve…

"Well, this is a disappointment." He suddenly said. Ichigo gave him a confused look. Daito smiled.

"Pierce your enemies, Denkou Ame!" Daito cried. Everyone braced themselves as Daito released his sword.

Daito now held a jagged sword in the shape of a bolt of lightning with electricity surrounding the blade.

"Psh, is that it?" Ichigo smirked. Daito grinned back at him.

"Oh, don't judge her by her looks." He warned. He pointed his zanpakto at Ichigo, who stiffened.

A giant bolt of lighting came straight at Ichigo, who tried to block it with his sword.

"Bad idea." Daito simply said. The electric current came straight off the sword and electrocuted Ichigo, who fell to his knees and dropped his sword.

Aimi tried to concentrate and not get distracted with worry for the group. She heard Daito release his sword and gritted her teeth, trying to stop the urge to go and help.

_Oh come on! Think Aimi, think!!! _Aimi scolded herself. She bit her tongue.

_I got it!!_ She suddenly thought. She concentrated hard and released some spirit energy, shaping it into a key shape. It went into the keyhole and the box clicked open. Aimi opened her eyes and slowly lifted the lid, holding her breath.

It was a necklace.

Aimi lifted it out skeptically.

"Is that it??" she muttered. The necklace was a simple black cord with a charm. The charm was an onyx-black wolf with a tail the shape of fire. Aimi examined it for a moment.

Suddenly, a million memories flew into her head.

"_You must execute Daito."_

"_But why?! He hasn't done any wrongdoings!"_

"_He will in the future…"_

_--_

"_Daito, how could you?! Why did you murder Lieutenant Akisoka?!"_

"_You're next, Captain Aimi…"_

"_Traitor!"_

Aimi dropped the necklace in shock, and her hands gripped the ground so she wouldn't fall. She panted, suddenly exhausted by all the horrifying memories that had flown in. When she had dropped the necklace, they flew out of her head again, exhausting her even further.

"Just put it on already!!" Ichigo yelled at her, struggling against Daito. Aimi nodded and slowly put the necklace on.

And that was when the explosion sounded.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys! Chapter 9 is finally here! Please excuse my lateness. I was busy with homework.

Note: To All of my Code Geass Fans: I am officially announcing the date of the release of Chapter 1 of my Code Geass Fanfiction: A Split-Ended Road of Darkness. It features Season 2 of Code Geass, in my revised version. I have added a character of my own and rewrote the entire series. The Chapter 1 release date will be March 17, 2009, and a new chapter will be posted on the 17th of every month. Hope some of you will read it, and suggest it to your friends! But, since the fanfiction is so incredibley long, I will see how many fans I recieve and may post a new chapter more frequently so it doesn't take two years for it all to be posted!!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo. All I own is some DVDs, a few books, and this measly fan fiction.

----------------------------------------------------

The group was thrown a few meters back, away from Aimi and Daito. Daito struggled to stay where he was, slipping a little.

Everyone opened their eyes when the blast ended. Their eyes widened as the smoke cleared. Aimi's eyes were closed, but she was now standing up. Her spirit energy was suddenly expertly controlled. She wore a black shihakshou with a long white vest on top that flowed down to her ankles. The bottom of it had black dots and the Japanese symbol of "5" was on the back. Her hair was down and a little windblown, and a sword was tied slantwise to her back with a turquoise sash.

Aimi opened her eyes, which were now scarlet. She reached behind her back and began to unsheathe her sword. Daito took one step back nervously.

"5th squad, Captain Aimi Koroke…" he said quietly, knowing that impending doom was upon him.

Aimi disappeared and reappeared behind Daito.

"This is the end." She said quickly, her voice just as ominous as her eyes. Blood spurted from Daito and he collapsed; dead.

Aimi gave one flick of her sword to shake off the blood and she put it back into its sheath.

Orihime watched the whole thing, horrified. She had never seen Aimi this serious and menacing before. She even began to feel fear creeping up her spine.

Aimi turned to the group, closing her eyes and sighing.

"I'm sorry you all had to witness that…" she said, opening her eyes, which now orange and much kinder. "But if you had known what he had done to my squad one hundred fifty years ago…"

"Aimi…You're a Captain?" Rukia asked in disbelief, changing the subject. Aimi nodded quickly.

"I knew everything about Aizen's plan. Although Aizen was only a ranked officer, he already had his plan formed. Daito was a part of it before Aizen thought he was of no use. Daito was in my squad, and I suspected something was going on. Daito was ordered to kill me and my lieutenant. While he succeeded in murdering my lieutenant, he failed to murder me as well, and Aizen framed him. Daito was exiled from Soul Society, and has been searching for me for a century and a half, trying to strike upon the perfect chance to destroy me and reveal to Aizen that he was valuable to his plan." She explained. She then sighed. "Unfortunately, it's still quite difficult to have to kill your own subordinate though…"

She glanced at Ishida, worried about what he thought of her as a shinigami. She knew that they were one of his worst enemies. Ishida's face was unreadable, but Aimi could see a slight disturbance in his eyes. He looked away from her. Aimi heaved a sigh.

"Let's go to Urahara's. I'm sure he'll be able to explain a lot of things about this." Ichigo suggested. The group nodded. Aimi used a demon spell to burn Daito's body, and she spread his ashes on the ground next to the river. They all then went to Urahara's.

--------------------

Urahara looked up at the group in front of him. He smiled when he saw Aimi in her shinigami form.

"So, need a gigai, Aimi?" he joked. Aimi gave him a small smile back.

"Yes, I don't think anyone will see me if I remain this way. Going to school would be fairly difficult." She said and chuckled. "And this is what you have been concealing in that mysterious container all this time…Is there anything else you must explain? For example, the location of my mother?" she then asked, her voice suddenly serious.

"She's looking for your uncle." Urahara answered. "I haven't heard anything else from her, unfortunately. But don't worry; she'll be fine. You know she's not your real mother, right?"

"I believe I deducted that." Aimi said and nodded, a little disappointed.

"Did you find out anything about Ichimaru Gin?" Rukia asked. Urahara shook his head.

"No. We'll have to just wait and see when he attacks again." He answered.

"Urahara…What do you think will happen if Soul Society discovers that I have regained my…?" Aimi began to ask, trailing off a little.

"Even I can't answer that. Be careful around the other shinigami though. They might say something to Soul Society." Urahara answered, sighing.

Aimi nodded. She wasn't quite ready to return to Soul Society just yet. She glanced at Ishida again. His face was still unreadable. She worried about how he felt about all this, now that he knew the truth. She shook off the thought, trying to rid of her human emotions. They were not permitted for a captain of Soul Society. Especially one that had been Captain since the present General was chosen; he had chosen her himself as one of his first Captains.

Aimi stood up.

"Well then, I suppose I had better put on a gigai and resume my interesting 'human' life." She announced. "As for everyone else, I suggest you return home, and this had _never _happened."

Everyone nodded. Aimi put on a gigai and she and Orihime returned to the apartment after everyone had gone off to their regular homes. Aimi stopped and looked up at the star filled sky and at the thin sliver of a crescent moon.

A part of her suddenly seemed homesick. A part of her wanted to return to Soul Society. She heaved a sigh and looked away.

"Aimi? Are you okay?" Orihime asked, a few yards away; she had just noticed that Aimi had stopped walking.

"Yes, I'm fine." Aimi answered. She caught up with Orihime.

_Nothing will ever be the same…_ She thought sadly. She knew even though Daito was defeated, another dilemma will soon appear to try to ruin her happy ending.

_Of course, there is no such thing as a happy ending in life, is there? _She added in her mind. Orihime looked at her with a confused look.

"Are you okay, Aimi-san?" she asked her. Aimi gave her a small smile and rubbed her temple a little.

"I was just thinking of how many changes there will be from now on. And all these memories I have regained are giving me quite the headache!" She said jokingly. Orihime smiled and shook her head.

"Everything will be fine, you'll see!!" she said. Aimi smiled wider.

"Alright then." She answered.

_No need to worry anyone with the truth… _she thought to herself.

END OF BOOK I

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMING SOON:

BOOK II OF THE AIMI TRILOGY

A CHOICE OF FIRE OR ICE

Release date is unknown. Spring Break begins next week, so I will finally get some writing done! Hope you have enjoyed Book I!


	10. PREVIEW OF BOOK TWO

I know it has been years, you guys! But guess what?! I am writing again! I have no idea when this fanfiction will get done, but I sure can give you a preview of it!

I would like you to remember that this was written back when the sixth season of Bleach was first out in Japan, therefore a lot of things with Aizen had not been revealed. Hell, the Arrancar had not even appeared yet when I wrote this. I will try to rewrite the first book, but for now, I would like to move ahead to the second volume. I have gained a bit more writing skill, and learned how to not make the characters so OOC xD

Here you will find Aimi and Uryuu quite a bit more serious. Aimi, well it makes sense- She is now a soul reaper aged hundreds of years, therefore her speech and demeanor will most likely be closer to that of a wise old woman. Uryuu will be Uryuu: soul reaper hater and such.

Also- I know this may seem like Aimi's a Mary Sue, but don't worry- Being powerful comes with a LOT of weaknesses ^^ She's not in God-mode like Aizen was. xD

Here I go, talking too much already xD Anyway, DISCLAIMER. I DO NOT OWN BLEACH. FLAMES WARM ME UP AT NIGHT C=

Here is a preview of what will most likely be the first chapter of Book Two of Aimi's story!

* * *

"Aimi, are you ready yet? We need to go to school!"

"Just one moment, Inoue."

Aimi Koroke heaved a sigh as she slipped on her shoes, preparing for yet another day of her monotonous human routine. The earth world was so simple: go to school, return home, study, and go to bed. But things had not always been as such.

She remembered the days when she would enjoy herself with the others, when she allowed herself to be childish, to grow up with new experiences, and to be attracted to teenage boys. Now, nothing seemed to be enjoyable in this fickle earth world.

"Perhaps I should attempt to be childish once again…" She wondered to herself, standing and picking her schoolbag as she went to join her friend in their walk to school.

"Are you okay, Aimi? You sure nothing's wrong?"

Aimi smiled at the young girl pleasantly. Although she seemed to be a bit of an airhead, Orihime certainly was brighter then she allowed others to see.

"Yes, everything is fine. Shall we get going? I would not like to cause the others to be late to class." Aimi reassured her and immediately attempted to change the topic.

"Oh! Yes!" The redhead immediately took Aimi's hand and pulled her towards the park where the rest would meet them.

* * *

"What took you so long? You were not applying some silly make up for too long, were you?" Hitsugaya immediately questioned as the girls arrived.

"There is no need to be upset, Captain Hitsugaya. It was my fault; I apologize." Aimi immediately responded as Orihime sulked from being scolded. Hitsugaya immediately backed off, showing his respect for the older captain.

"Good morning, you two." Ichigo smiled, nodding at them.

"Morning, Ichigo!" Orihime immediately perked up, smiling brightly. "And you too, Uryuu!"

Uryuu made no response save for a small nod, and immediately began to walk towards the school.

"He's been so cold since Aimi's gotten her Soul Reaper powers back…" Orihime grew sad. "Why can't he push away his pride for once…?"

"The soul reapers purposely allowed his grandfather to die. His bitterness is justified. I am a soul reaper, and therefore no exception." Aimi said flatly, seeming to be unaffected by the cold shoulder. She walked towards the school herself, ignoring Uryuu as she walked past him. "Come, Inoue."

"Oh! Yes!" Orihime ran after her friend, trying to catch up, Rukia following closely behind. Ichigo began to go after them, but decided to slow down when he reached Uryuu.

"You know, she's not that different from before. She's still the same girl who fell for you in the first place."

"Kurosaki, forgive me, but do you realize just how stupid you sounded right now? She holds the memories of someone who has been a soul reaper for more than three hundred years. To her, humans are low and barely tolerated. Not to mention, you know I hate soul reapers, no matter how well I knew them in the past. The thought of even developing a relationship with one-"

"What a load of bullshit." Ichigo interrupted his logical friend. "You still like her. You just can't let your damn pride get out of the way and try to make sense of the situation. I mean, hell, no one expected a soul reaper who disappeared more than one hundred years ago to suddenly turn up out of nowhere. Nothing's been making sense."

"Kurosaki-"

"I'm gonna head to class, where my friends are, including Aimi. If you want to join us, that's your own damn decision. But treating her like she's not there is not okay with any of us. Come on, Chad."

Leaving the Quincy there, Ichigo and Chad moved ahead to try to catch up with the girls. Uryuu stopped, sighing.

"I think you are right about her, Quincy. You should not get involved with her anymore."

Uryuu turned and glared at the Captain that stood behind him.

"Soul Society is trying to rebuild, and once they find out about her, they'll do anything to convince her to return. She was one of the most powerful soul reapers in her day. They will need her." Hitsugaya explained, sitting in a tree.

"Well, if she is indeed as Kurosaki says, then she will stubbornly refuse." Uryuu responded flatly.

"You do not understand even now how Soul Society works, Quincy." Hitsugaya continued, narrowing his eyes at the boy. "Convincing means to give her a path she will have no choice but to take."

With that, he disappeared.

* * *

"Man, Aimi! I haven't seen you act like this in a while!"

"Yeah, you seem a lot of fun again!"

Aimi chuckled, nodding. "Let's just say that I'm in the better of moods today. Orihime does manage to cheer me up quite easily!"

Suddenly, a roar from a Hollow was heard. Rukia and Orihime stood in alarm, but Aimi remained calmly on the grass.

"Um, are you guys okay?" Chizuru asked nervously.

"No need to worry, girls." Aimi suddenly said, standing up. "Rukia and Orihime must have been startled from the crash of a construction vehicle, correct?"

Orihime gave Aimi a puzzled look before realizing what Aimi intended. "O-Oh, yes!"

Rukia continued to stare wide-eyed towards the school gates.

A Hollow made its way towards the school, screaming about the enormous amount of spirit power from so many humans and soul reapers there. However, just as it was about to burst through the gates, an invisible wall repelled it, burning the monster mysteriously from touching the barrier. Before long, it was gone.

"What was…?" Orihime began quietly, looking at a stunned Rukia.

"I have only read about such impressive demon power…" Rukia glanced at Aimi, who continued to eat calmly.

Rukia and Orihime suddenly saw the confused looks on the other girls' faces, and decided it would be best to sit down. Wordlessly, the girls finished their lunch before returning to class.

"So, Rukia. Did you finish that homework assignment from Japanese?"

Aimi's thoughts wandered away from the conversation, glancing up at the windows of the school, where Uryuu stood, looking out at them. Her eyes suddenly caught Uryuu's for a moment, but it was not long until he had walked away from the window.

_It's no use. Although I do not have time for any intimate relationships, I still would have preferred to have a friend such as him…_

Sighing, she entered the school ahead of the girls, wishing for time to fly faster so she could return home and study endlessly.

* * *

"Kisuke, why must being human be so difficult suddenly? It is almost as if all those years of experience in life had suddenly vanished."

"You're simply allowing yourself to be a teenager again, Aimi. You were never allowed that when you became a soul reaper." Yourichi answered as she entered the room with some tea.

"But it does not make any sense that I would have these strange feelings for a boy much younger than I."

Urahara chuckled. "No matter how long it has been, Aimi, you are still a teenager at heart. The sole fact that you are unable to accept such a thing is proof enough."

"Never mind that. Will Soul Society not steal me away soon?"

Yourichi sighed. "We've attempted to find any sort of clue, but unfortunately, they could walk in that door right now and we would not have been able to anticipate it. However, I would think that it will be very soon."

"Mr. Urahara?"

The three turned to the owner of the meek young voice, immediately silencing their conversation. Hanataro stood in the doorway, bowing to his three superiors. "I believe I have finished my research here, so I will not burden you any further and return to Soul Society tomorrow."

"So soon? That is too bad." Urahara replied with a sigh. "Do come back quickly."

Hanataro smiled and nodded.

"I will try to."

As he left the room, he was followed by Aimi's eyes intently.

"Aimi?"

Aimi turned back to the two former captains.

"Forgive me, but I must be going. Human teachers can be quite cruel with their amount of homework."

* * *

Hanataro hummed happily as he began to return to Urahara's home with an armful of dinners from the supermarket.

"Hanataro."

The boy jumped the sound of his name, having been convinced that he was alone.

"Calm yourself, it is only me."

Aimi revealed herself from the shadows, smiling kindly in order to calm the healer.

"Ms. Koroke…What are you doing here…?"

Aimi sighed. "I would like to speak to you about something."

* * *

"Aimi! Aimi, we need to get to school! Did you sleep in again?"

Orihime searched around for her friend, and suddenly decided to open the door to her room, despite how impolite it seemed.

"Aimi…?"

Aimi was not there. But a slip of paper was.

* * *

"Aimi did what?!"

Ichigo stared wide-eyed at Orihime, who flinched.

"'It is time I finally settled things with Soul Society. I no longer need protection. Forgive me if I am unable to return.' What in the world could she be think-"

"She will not be returning." Hitsugaya interrupted. "We have been called back into Soul Society."

"We? You mean myself as well?" Rukia asked.

"Yes. There is a ceremony to attend."

"A ceremony?"

"The welcoming of a new captain."


End file.
